by Jianne Carlo
His feet squelched on the grass. His gaze found hers, and his mouth flattened. He walked to the tub and set his hands on either side of her head.
“Look at me.”
His low growl snaked a shiver over the one shoulder peeking out of the water. She leaned back. A delicious bolt of excitement struck her from head to toes. Anticipation and a tiny bit of fear had her struggling to inhale.
“Remember. You asked for this.”
She nodded.
He climbed into the tub and dunked under the water. When he rose, the liquid sluiced his butt and thighs, dripping from the light hair dusting his bulging quadriceps. He turned around, and the tip of his erect cock brushed her lips. Giddy, she reached for him.
“No.”
She went to stand.
He pushed her down.
“Sit there.” He pointed to the bench.
Complying, she frog stepped and sat.
“Turn around. Face outside.”
Susie frowned but obeyed albeit slowly.
What did he intend?
With her back to him, she couldn’t see what he did, and jumped when the jets came on with a low rumble.
“Easy.” He massaged the bridge of her shoulder. “Shift to the right.”
She tried to glance over her shoulder, but he cupped the back of her head to prevent the action.
“Straddle the seat.”
The tub had a series of different seats, some reclined, some straight. This one was backward with a gap between it and the tub’s wall, and when she did as he ordered, the lush pines of Hallie Forest Preserve came into view. The back of the chair ended halfway up her spine and was at a forty-five-degree angle to the hot tub. In that position the jets pounded her breasts and tickled her clit.
He adjusted something, the seat tilted to a sharper angle, and the water thrummed her entire exposed pussy. At first the sensation had her bowed, too powerful and too exquisite all at once.
She grabbed on to the tub’s rim.
Joe climbed between her outstretched hands and sat facing her. His cock bobbed across her lips. “Open wide.”
A frisson of fear clenched at her belly. Tentatively she opened her mouth.
“Wider.” He did something, the jets doubled in intensity, and the chair inclined closer to a pulsing spout.
Oh God. She opened her mouth to protest, and he thrust inside forcibly.
His dick strained her mouth and stretched her jaw; she fought the automatic gag reflex. The water battered her aching nipples, her throbbing clit. It was too much to bear. He was too huge. The jets had her on the verge. She grabbed his thighs. He captured her wrists in one hand and caressed her throat.
Gradually her lips stopped stinging from the pressure of his cock, and his rhythmic working of her throat somehow alleviated the choking pressure.
His knees widened her thighs. He hit another switch.
The jets exploded, battering her clit in a direct machine-gun pounding.
She climaxed on the spot. Her pussy clenched in quick, sharp bursts, the rapid-fire, acute sensations exquisite to the point of pain. He freed her hands, and she clung to his thighs, desperate for an anchor.
Joe pinched her nipples, and her waning orgasm spiraled higher, her clit afire, the shooting stream of water hammering her swollen labia. Her rigid jaw relaxed. Slowly, oh so slowly, he slid in and out of her mouth.
He changed the depth of penetration with each stroke.
A half of him. Three quarters. Back to half. His pace increased.
And all the while he kept her thighs spread wide and inched the chair closer to the pummeling jets. One orgasm whirled into another and another. Her pussy fisted and contracted and spasmed.
He cupped the back of her head and drove in so far she gagged slightly. Immediately he pulled back.
She grabbed his ass, held him fast, and sucked, and closed her eyes when warm liquid flooded her mouth.
Curling over her, he shuddered and his hands firmed on her back.
His cock surged and his fingers bit into her flesh when his whole body spasmed in short, severe jerks. Hot breath from his ragged panting skittered along one exposed shoulder. Beneath her palms, his quads twitched erratically.
“Susie.” She loved that his deep rumble growled the word with a slight waver, her name sounding like a benediction of some sort.
He eased out of her mouth. A drop of his sperm caught on the side of her lip. She licked at it and smiled like a fool in love.
“What’s that self-satisfied grin about?” He rolled onto a reclining bench on the left and pulled her on top of him.
“I was right,” she declared, unable to keep the smugness from her voice. “Salty, musky, and spicy with a dollop of Joe.”
He chuckled and combed the wet strands of her hair. “Dollop of Joe. I could get used to that.”
“My first blowjob. How’d I do?” Susie rubbed a slight crack at the corner of her lips. She’d always considered her mouth too wide. Wrong.
Twirling a finger around the rim of her ear, he replied, “Oh. A solid C. Definite room for improvement.”
She smacked him on the shoulder.
“I lost it at the end, there.” He cradled her chin and met her gaze. “Did I hurt you?”
“Hurt? No. It, well you are ginormous as I’ve said before, so it was a little uncomfortable at first. But you know practice makes perfect. I’ve never gotten any grade lower than an A plus.” Susan arched a brow. “You may have noticed I’m a tad on the competitive side.”
Joe guffawed. “A tad? Babe, that’s the understatement of infinity.”
She preened, gave him an under-the-lashes peek, and lowered her voice. “Of course, nothing improves a grade better than a ton of practice exercises.”
The dimpled smile he flashed had her insides fluttering.
“You know the exact way to a man’s heart.”
“Yes, sir. Food.”
“Food.” He gifted her with another bad-boy grin. “Food. Replenish energy for round two. Good idea.”
“Round two? I like the sound of that.” Susie pushed off his chest.
“Where’re you going?” He snatched at her hand.
“Shower off?”
“Gypsy, you and I are attached at the hip for the rest of the night. You go nowhere except in my arms.”
And he more than lived up to that statement. They showered in the open, which felt deliciously wicked. He carried her to the house, towel-dried her, and that led to dinner on his lap, totally nude.
He made love to her twice more. The first time, they tussled all the way through, play fighting, and tickling. She objected when he licked her toes. He purred when she explored his ears.
By the time she fell asleep, Susie was totally, completely in love, convinced she could reform his alpha ways and groom him into a man capable of compromising.
* * * *
Joe woke her up by sliding his tongue over her clit. She had to admit it was a good way to begin the day. After they made love, Joe told her to linger in bed. He wanted to meet with Fay Ward before breakfast.
Susie dozed after he’d left and woke to see the clock registered nine thirty. Hurrying, she showered and dressed. Cooked the breakfast she’d meant to do the day before and finished right as the doorbell rang.
Nabbing a dollop of cream with a finger, she practiced different licks to clean the digit. She opened the door wearing a wide smile.
“Someone got woken up properly.” Tate winked at her.
“Shut your face. I don’t want to even think about that. She’s my sister, for chrissake.” Scruffy-jawed, eyebrows gathered into a black line, Gray scowled at Tate and pushed right past the two of them. “Where’s the food? I could eat an elephant.”
“The term is horse.” Susie pushed the door shut and followed the two alphas into the kitchen.
Tate surveyed the spread on the table. “No bacon?”
What absolute gall.
Breakfast with Tate and Gray proved it. Al
phas inspired testiness.
Tate and Gray wolfed down the French toast. She had to hide four slices for Joe.
“You have another sister?” Tate pointed a fork at Susie. “If she can cook half as good as you, I want to meet her.”
“Not happening,” Gray snapped. “You are getting nowhere near Lizzie. Not suitable.”
“I’m a fricking catch.” Tate waved his knife. “Women line up. My voice mail can’t keep up with the volume of calls when I’m on a mission.”
“Precisely my point.”
The two of them bickered while Susie puttered around, checking the meager pantry supplies, and familiarizing herself with the contents of the cabinets. Footsteps on the deck had her checking the bay window, and she sighed when her mate came into view.
Joe stalked in through the back door, his lips drawn into a grim line.
“How’d it go?” Gray got up to pour another cup of coffee.
“The last still Tate found is Fay’s. Put there in the sixties by my grandmother and Fay. She says they stopped selling moonshine about six months before Gran-gran died in 1990. Got too dangerous. Some new guys had come into the area and controlled all the state border traffic. The leader was one Swampy Sauvé.”
“Swampy Sauvé—really?” Tate rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Like that’s a real name.”
“Then our killer is the one who put the other three vats in. Ivan? Has he any role in this?” Gray sipped his java.
“Not as a killer. Fay sometimes took him with her when she went to the stills. She says she thinks he felt safe there, and that’s why he goes there when he’s off his meds.” Joe grabbed a mug from the tree and filled it.
“Ninteen ninety. Wonder if the timing’s important?” Tate rocked his chair back. “What next?”
Joe sipped his coffee before answering. “Kieran called. We’re meeting in twenty to head back to Hallelujah.”
“I’ll heat up your breakfast.” She saw his imminent refusal. “No. Don’t even try that. No protein shake. It’ll take you no time to sit down and eat a good meal.”
Surprised when he offered not a grumble, she warmed his food in the micro.
Fifteen minutes later the house yawned its emptiness.
Joe had agreed to leave her alone in the house but elicited so many safety promises her head had spun. She cleaned up, graded papers, and put together all the data forms for the boys’ and girls’ daily calorie and exercise listing. She still hadn’t decided how to organize the forms for the adults.
Having been given strict instructions not to leave the house, Susie decided on reading a research text in the swing on the front porch. After gathering her neon yellow highlighter and a glass of water, she ambled through the living room and then onto the porch. She settled in the swing, one foot pushing it back and forth, the other propped on the seat.
The morning was cooler than the day before, but the sun shone, and the sky burned a bright powder blue. A light breeze danced with her loose hair.
Her eyelids fluttered.
A puppy yelped.
Susie sat up and grinned.
Zaara, Irsa, and Wania pushed a doll carriage down the driveway. They had come from the back of the house. Her lips twitched at their awkward progress; both Irsa and Zaara had one hand each on the stroller’s back handle, while Wania gripped the side of the carriage.
“Hi, there. Where’d you three come from?”
“Mom let us take the new shortcut. She’s walking behind; she’s such a slowpoke.” Zaara pointed behind her.
“We’re walking Rex.” Irsa jiggled the doll wagon.
A faint whimper sounded from the covered miniature stroller.
Poor Rex.
Wania pulled her thumb from her mouth. “Dogth.”
Susie jumped down the steps. ‘“Can I see him?”
“I’ll get him out for you. I know how. Wania tries to grab his head. He doesn’t like that.” Irsa carefully lifted the blinking golden retriever into her arms. The puppy wriggled his chubby hind legs.
“Oh, he’s gorgeous. Can I hold him?” Susie held out her hands for the transfer. “He’s still got puppy breath. Nothing nicer than puppy breath.”
The dog’s pink tongue lapped her cheek.
“We’re not to let him lick our faces,” Irsa informed her gravely. “Wania lets him do that when Mom isn’t looking.”
“Who does what when I’m not looking?” A tall, slender woman of East Indian heritage strolled down the driveway. “Hope you don’t mind the slight trespass. The girls were determined to walk Rex on their own, and this was the best compromise I could manage under the circumstances.”
“Not at all. I’m Susie White. You must be Laila Hassani. Joe’s gaga about your girls. Not that I’m not. I mean. Sorry, big foot in mouth there.”
Laila’s lips curved, showcasing a perfect porcelain smile. “I know what you meant to say. It always amazes me how these I’m-male-and-in-charge types are totally felled by the big eyes of a two-year-old.”
“I’m guessing your husband’s similar?” What a pretty woman. She had a cream-with-coffee complexion, a slight crookedness to an otherwise straight nose, and her thick mass of raven hair was cut into a roaring-twenties-style fringe and chin-length bob.
“Totally.” Laila checked her watch. “Oh boy. We have to go back. It’s Rex’s first dog training lesson in five minutes. If you’re not doing anything, walk back with us. We can have a cup of tea and watch the girls have their lesson. It promises to be hilarious.”
Susie hesitated. “I’d love to. Can you wait while I make a quick call just to rearrange something?”
Like Joe.
“Sure. With how much we’re paying this guy, I don’t imagine he’s going to leave if we’re a couple of minutes late.”
Susie dashed inside, called Joe, explained that she’d be with Laila and the girls the whole time, and agreed to wait at the Hassanis’ for him. She promised not to attempt the maybe three-minute jog between the two properties through the burned-out lot. She snatched one of Joe’s hoodies from the coatrack and tied the sleeves around her neck.
Laila proved right on the mark. The lesson had both women laughing until they cried. After the dog trainer departed, Laila served a proper English tea with savories and sweets.
Susie’d never had tea before and peppered Laila with questions about the ritual. The girls’ eyelids all drooped after eating their cupcakes and éclairs.
“They need a nap, I’m afraid. I’ll take them up and be right back down. Help yourself to more tea.” Laila gathered her exhausted flock and led them into the house.
Landscaped with a series of rose beds and cobbled paths, the Hassani’s backyard proved peaceful and relaxing. Susie lifted her face to the warm afternoon sun and blew out a long sigh. After the tumult of the last few weeks, today had been a haven from the start. The temperature dipped. She shrugged into her hoodie but didn’t bother to zip the front.
She glanced over to where Rex had been tethered to the water fountain and frowned; the dog was nowhere in sight. She lurched to her feet and ambled over to the sculpture, fully expecting to find the pup curled on the opposite side of the pedestal. The leash hung loose.
“Rex. Where are you, boy?” She whistled. “Rex. Rex. Come here, boy.”
A quick search of the yard came up empty. The puppy hadn’t passed by where she’d been sitting. Susie was pretty certain of that. She scanned the line where the property merged into the preserve. Nothing. Quickening her steps, she let her gaze run farther up the hill and caught a glimpse of a furry body between two lanky tree trunks.
Susie broke into a fast jog. The young dog proved remarkably nimble and led her a merry dance up the incline and around Terri’s lot. She snuck under a low-hanging branch and cursed when the puppy, wagging its tail, bounded into the Arnolds’ backyard. Putting on a burst of speed, she raced after the dog and halted on a breath when all her nape hairs sparked with a burst of static electricity.
Darkness closed in on
the edges of her vision.
No. No.
This couldn’t happen now. The familiar bitterness flooded her mouth. She misstepped and grabbed on to a spindly trunk.
Giddiness swamped her. The lawn and raised flower beds rolled like a stormy sea. She choked on her own spit. The now familiar roaring in her ears sucked away all sound, and pain stabbed daggers in her head.
Rex whimpered.
The sound came from directly in front of her. She peered, blinked, and tried to focus. The dog licked her toes. She stooped, felt for Rex, and grabbed the squirming puppy. A lash of fear struck her.
She whipped around. Too fast.
The move had the landscape spinning. Her knees buckled, and she hit the damp ground with a sharp thud.
Rex barked and wriggled like a worm bent on escape. Susie stuffed him down the front of the hoodie and pulled the zip halfway. Still not able to see more than a hazy blur, she crawled onto her hands and pushed off the muddy grass. She crouched and took several deep inhales. Lurched on wobbly legs to a standing position and focused on her sandaled feet, now covered in dirt and grass stains.
Good. She could see.
One step. Another. She staggered toward the preserve. Levered from tree to tree, grabbed branches to steady her shaky limbs, and progressed in what she hoped was the Hassani’s direction. Gradually the leaves and trees lost the fuzzy veil obscuring her sight, and the piercing knives attacking the inside of her brain dulled.
“Susie! Susie!”
Joe. She croaked, “Here. Here.”
Seconds later he hauled her off her feet. Squeezed her so tight Rex yelped. Frowning, he glanced at her chest and then met her gaze. “You’re barking.”
“Rex. The puppy. He slipped off the lead, and I ran after him.” Oh God. He felt so good. She traced his brows, cheeks, mouth. Stared at him. “There’s something really wrong at the Arnolds’.”
“The Arnolds? You had another vision?” He checked her arms, shoulders, and ribs. “How bad?”
She shuddered. “Horrible. Eyes everywhere. Don’t want to go there right now.”
“You have to, babe. If you don’t, you’ll lose any chance of remembering some important detail.” He stroked her cheek. “I’m sorry to have to do this to you. Close your eyes and try to picture what you saw.”
